tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post4490043479136091315..comments2015-07-30T06:24:18.674-04:00Comments on The DiaTribe: Tomahawks FlyingPaul Cousineauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-14136923878508130882008-05-02T09:05:00.001-04:002008-05-02T09:05:00.001-04:00manor,Welcome to the Party...by the way.manor,<BR/>Welcome to the Party...by the way.Paul Cousineauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-67263714302061876482008-05-02T09:05:00.000-04:002008-05-02T09:05:00.000-04:00manor,Not sure I agree with you on the leadership ...manor,<BR/>Not sure I agree with you on the leadership thing as my point had more to do with the team being loose (whether or not they “choked” two of the last three years). I would peg Victor and C.C. as the leaders of the team with the rest of the players taking their cues from them. <BR/>Is there a Big Papi on the team – that universally commands respect in the clubhouse AND calls his teammates out as he did after Game 4 of the ALCS last year? <BR/>No…but how many of those are there in the league?<BR/><BR/>Also, on the 40-man thing, I agree with you that the team waits for too long to make a decision on their players – but I don’t like either of your examples. From the time that Phillips flamed out after his 1st stint with the team, he developed serious flaws in his game (and seemed to be at constant odds with management, dressing down John Farrell in the Bisons’ clubhouse at one point) and wasn’t going to bring much in return in a trade at any point after that. Whether or not he would have blossomed in Cleveland as he has in Cincinnati is debatable as I think that the move prompted Phillips’ resurgence, in effect, to prove the Indians wrong and to justify his comments (even if only in his own mind) during the press conference of Sizemore’s contract that “it should have been me”.<BR/><BR/>As for Barton, he was a 25-year-old AAA player who SLUGGED .420 in Buffalo last year with Gutierrez and Francisco in front of him on the depth chart, not to mention Sizemore. Should he have been protected over Brad Snyder? Probably, but I still don’t see him as much more than a platoon OF or a 4th OF and would take Gutz and The Frisco Kid today. <BR/>Playing Francisco, however…<BR/><BR/>I think the better examples of the team waiting too long come from Jeremy Guthrie or Andrew Brown and not “selling high” on prospects from a guy like a Trevor Crowe. One of the things that drove the Braves’ sustained run of excellence was identifying which of their prospects they felt strongly about and which were overrated or had simply benefited from one good year. Those “suspects” then were moved for other parts and the real “prospects” stuck around to help the team. If there is an area that the Indians’ Front Office needs to improve, it is that. They need to identify which players LEGITIMATELY can help the team down the road as a difference-maker and which ones simply project as 5th starters, middle relievers, 4th outfielders, or utility players. If you can find a team that values one of your players more highly than you do, you make the move and don’t look back.Paul Cousineauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-58939991632042919022008-05-02T00:01:00.000-04:002008-05-02T00:01:00.000-04:00Great point on them being a week of solid pitching...Great point on them being a week of solid pitching from putting them up at the top of the AL. <BR/><BR/>Just need to keep reciting: The hits will come. The hits WILL come.Ryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413824903442574052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-82018362836822032732008-05-01T22:59:00.000-04:002008-05-01T22:59:00.000-04:00Caption on a Yahoo! photo:"Cleveland Indians' Vict...Caption on a Yahoo! photo:<BR/><BR/>"Cleveland Indians' Victor Martinez, right, congratulates closing pitcher Jorge Julio after Julio pitched the ninth inning to close out an 8-3 Indians win of a baseball game in Cleveland, on Wednesday, April 30, 2008."<BR/><BR/>Can you find the part of the caption that made my blood pressure spike momentarily?R.M. Jenningshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00598904864402266767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-44616685865876590142008-05-01T22:04:00.000-04:002008-05-01T22:04:00.000-04:00Would the Indians entertain trading Sowers, who th...<I>Would the Indians entertain trading Sowers, who they see (trust me) as no more than a #5 starter and could have some trade value with his 2005 season, his start against the Yankees, and continued success in Buffalo?</I><BR/><BR/>The Indians almost never make trades like that. Their MO is to wait till there's no room on the 40-man roster for someone, then let him walk (Barton, Phillips).<BR/><BR/><I>...the looseness of the clubhouse that seems to be notably lacking this year is one big difference between this year’s team and last year’s incarnation of the Tribe.</I><BR/><BR/>The same loose team choked last October and choked in the 2005 pennant race without him, so I don't think Nixon made any difference.<BR/><BR/>I do think there's a lack of obvious onfield leadership here, relating in my opinion to the organization's devaluing of, if not outright distrust of, vocal guys and players with a noticeable personality. Which is why Brandon Phillips will hit 30 homers for a second straight year in Cincinnati and not Cleveland.manormythhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06682357386781647093noreply@blogger.com